Dark Days
by GriffinRose
Summary: James and Sirius have been kidnapped and chances of survival are dwindling fast, especially when one is struck with a poisoned dagger. The Death Eaters patience can only last so long, and James and Sirius are notorious for pushing people over the edge.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Life has a way of turning for the worst when you're at your best. And in the wizarding world during Lord Voldemort's rise, this often meant pain and death.

Two boys in particular found this out the hard way, and their lives have been forever changed because of it.

XX

_James POV_

Time and again, I ask myself how we ended up in this mess. I ask myself what either of us did to deserve this. I keep coming up blank.

Okay, so I know how we ended up here, actually. We were kidnapped by Death Eaters when my parents went out Christmas shopping.

And I suppose picking on the Slytherins didn't put us in high favor with the Death Eaters. But I would have thought something like that would have been beneath their notice.

Still, we're in what I like to call the Hell Hole. It's a closet at the base of a flight of stairs. We-Sirius and I- have about four feet by six feet to make ourselves comfortable. And the ceiling isn't that high either, not to mention it's slanted with the stair case. There's a single light at the top of the stairs, right by the door. It barely lit anything down here. And on top of all that, it's stone, so it's nearly impossible to be either comfortable or warm.

The first few days of our captivity, Sirius and I planned an escape. We figured we could over take anyone who came down to get us or to bring us food. Unfortunately, the Death Eaters just sent a house elf down with food. Attacking a house elf would gain nothing, so we couldn't do anything. And they had yet to actually come get us for anything.

This is surprising, because I figured they would have taken us for a reason. All they're doing so far is wasting food on us. (It's surprisingly good food, like they want to keep us alive).

"Do you think we could scrape off the cement around the blocks and make a hole that way?" Sirius asked as he stared intently at the wall opposite him. I sat across from him and slightly to his right so we had room to stretch out a little.

"Even if we did, wouldn't we just hit ground? What would we do then?" I asked. I didn't mean for it to come out as harsh as it sounded. But when you're in this kind of situation, you lose hope fast. Sirius frowned. I sighed and leaned my head back against the wall.

"Maybe we could bribe the elf into getting us out of here…I could offer my shirt…or my shoe…do you think my shoe would work?" Sirius asked. I looked over at him.

"Feel free to try," I told him. It's not that I had resigned myself to die in Hell Hole. It's more of just I didn't see a way out without being rescued, and I couldn't see anyone finding us to rescue us.

Hmm. Maybe that does mean I've resigned myself to die. Well crap.

Light suddenly spilled down into Hell. Sirius and I blinked and raised a hand to block it as we looked up to the top of the stairs. All we could make out was the person's silhouette.

"Oi, Potter. Get up here. It's time for your interrogation," a distinctly feminine voice said. Sirius groaned.

"If it isn't the lovely cousin Bellatrix," he said. I frowned. I'd heard a lot about Bellatrix from Sirius.

This was going to be painful.

"James, if you get a chance, then run. Get out. Save yourself," Sirius said. I turned to glare at him. (I still hadn't moved from my spot).

"I am not leaving you," I told him.

"Well you'd come back with help, obviously," he said. I would have retorted, if not for the fact that something pulled me to my feet none-too-gently, smashing my head into the ceiling, and hauled me up the stairs.

Belltrix had her wand out and pointed at me.

"It looks like we'll have to teach you some obedience," she purred. Her face seemed happy at the prospect.

"Good luck mate," Sirius called as the door slammed behind me and Bellatrix.

_I'll need it_, I thought bitterly as I was forced into the center of a large room.

"Now, we'll start off easily for you," Bellatrix said. "Tell us what your father does."

My father? My father is an auror. Almost everyone…in the…wizarding world…Shit. That's what this is about. They think I know something my father knows about them. They've kidnapped me and Sirius because they want information, and two sixth year Hogwarts students were easier to kidnap than a fully trained auror.

Looking back, I think this is where I resigned myself to die.

Because my father had never told me anything about his findings, so I couldn't tell them even if I wanted to.

"He's an auror," I said quietly. They already knew. That information was useless to get hurt over. Bellatrix smiled as she circled around me.

"Good, good. Now, does Daddy ever tell you anything? Any…secrets?" she whispered into my ear. I involuntarily shivered.

"No. He never told me anything," I said. Inside I was mad at myself for all the fear in my voice. Bellatrix frowned. She took a few steps away, her wand at the ready. I kept my eyes focused on it.

"That's a shame. Are you sure you can't remember anything? Not even the littlest tidbit?" She didn't give me a chance to respond. "_Crucio_!"

It was fire all over my body. I tried not to scream, but as she kept going, it became harder, and I was forced to cry out or lose my sanity.

"Nothing!" I screamed. "He didn't tell me anything!"

And just like that, the pain was gone. I lay on the floor curled into a ball, fingers clenching and unclenching against the floor. I took deep breaths while I had the chance.

Bellatrix's face was soon inches away from mine. "I don't believe you," she whispered. From the corner of my eye, I could see her wand in her hand, sticking out right above where it rested on her knee.

I've had impulsive moments before, and this was no exception.

I reached for her wand.

End Chapter

_Hey, Authoress here! Please review and critique! Let me know what you think of this!_


	2. Chapter 2

_Forgot this in the last chapter, but I do not in any way shape or form own Harry Potter or anything from the Harry Potter world._

Chapter 2

_Sirius's POV_

Bellatrix was here. Bellatrix was going to torture my best mate. This was a freaking nightmare.

And then I heard James screaming in pain. The sound was unnatural. James isn't meant to scream like that. James was the one who can fall of his broom a hundred feet in the air and suffer no more than a broken bone. He wouldn't even have a serious concussion. James was not the one who would scream in pain. He's stronger than that. So the fact that he is can only mean it was incredibly bad.

His voice was silent as quickly as it had started. For a moment, I sat there and thought the worst.

And then lovely Bella's voice carried down through the door: _"Give me my wand! Stop him!_" Hope arose anew in me at those words. James had gotten her wand! James could get out of here and get help! We'll be out of here in no time!

James cried out in pain again, a short, gut-wrenching scream. I closed my eyes. _Please don't tell me he's dead, please let him be alright! Please let him be alive!_

There was a dragging sound from above. The door opened to reveal two figures. One had to be James. He was being forced down the stairs, and when the other man was halfway down he decided that was close enough and pushed James the rest of the way. I heard the door slam forcefully above, but my eyes were on James' still form lying on the ground in a crumpled heap.

Something was wrong, and it took my mind a few moments to process exactly what that was. He was clutching his right arm tightly, and it's covered in blood. It has already soaked through his shirt and was quickly drenching his torso as well.

"James?" I whispered.

"Help…pain…" he croaked out. That snapped me out of my shock and I was next to him in a moment.

"Move your hand," I told him. It takes a few moments, but he does finally let go of his arm and he lets it fall to the ground. I ripped his shirt at the shoulder seam and carefully slip off the sleeve so I could see his arm better. This will likely be the bandage too. He whimpered-such a God-awful sound to hear from him-as the fabric caught his wound.

His upper arm had a six-inch long gash running through it, and it looked deep. Dark crimson blood kept flowing from it. I inhaled deeply through my mouth; my head was swimming from the sight of all this blood.

"I'm sorry, but this will likely hurt," I told him as I started trying to wipe away the worst of the blood with the sleeve of his shirt. He only whimpered a little, but I knew it must hurt like Hell.

I ripped off the bottom of my own shirt to wrap around his arm. Thankfully the blood flow seemed to be slowing. The bandage wouldn't last though. His blood would soak through it quickly.

"James? Can you hear me?" I asked him. He nodded, his eyes still shut tightly. I helped him sit up against the wall next to me. "What happened?" I asked quietly.

"Tried to take Bellatrix's wand. Had it too, for a while. Ran for it. She caught up with me though and got me with her dagger," he said. His voice was strained. I sighed.

"Always trying to play the hero," I muttered. He cracked a smile. "Get some sleep," I told him. He nodded and leaned his head back against the wall.

Soon enough his light snoring is all I could hear from him and his head accidentally dropped onto my shoulder. I didn't have the heart to move him though, so I let him be.

Time meant nothing to us here in the Hell Hole. Minutes could have passed, or it could have been hours. For all we knew, it could have even been days.

The only constant thing to keep us somewhat on track with the days was when the house elf brought us food. James was better at keeping track than me. According to him, we'd had three days worth of food before he'd been cut on the arm.

I did the math in my head and figured that today, the day James had been hurt, was Christmas.

Did people know we were missing yet? They had to, right? People were looking for us now right? Did they know it was Death Eaters who had taken us?

These thoughts constantly plagued my mind. I didn't share any of them with James. He seemed depressed enough as it was.

Rudolph, the house elf that brought us food, appeared with a _crack_, bearing two plates of food. He was dubbed Rudolph by James and I because of his large red nose. Without a word, as usual, Rudolph put the plates on the ground and disappeared with another _crack_. James stirred and groaned in his sleep, but he didn't wake.

"James, food. Wake up." I shook him a little. He groaned again but his eyes opened. Amazingly he still had his glasses. One of the lenses was cracked though, something I hadn't noticed earlier. He blinked the sleep away.

I leaned forward and grabbed the two plates. A cup of water for each of us was also provided. I glanced at James' arm. Should we clean it out to prevent infection? I handed James his plate. He took it silently and stared at it for a few moments: mashed potatoes and roast beef. No forks of course.

"What's the point of feeding us like this?" James asked quietly. His voice was really hoarse, like he'd just been yelling for five straight hours in Quidditch. I handed him a cup of water. Well, tried to, anyway. He didn't seem to have mobility of his right arm.

I placed my plate of food on the ground and took his plate and then handed him the water. He took it gratefully and downed a few sips, placing the cup on his other side when done. I handed him his plate again.

"I don't know mate. Maybe they don't know we're being fed this well and it's all the house elves doing," I suggested. I picked up my plate again and picked up the roast beef with my hands. It was cold, so I wasn't worried about burning myself. I dipped it in the mashed potatoes.

"Yeah, maybe," James said. He sat cross legged now, his right arm close to his torso. His plate was balanced on his legs. He wasn't eating it though.

"You need to eat," I said in between bites of food. "We don't know when we're getting food again. That's why I woke you up." I had no presumptions the house elf would keep coming twice daily. He sighed and picked up the roast beef and dipped it in the mashed potatoes the way I was doing.

"This is weird with my left hand," he commented. I shrugged and kept eating. Soon enough we had both finished and set the plates to the side. He'd downed his entire cup of water afterwards, and without thinking I'd done the same. I stared at his arm wrapped in bloody bandages.

We really should have cleaned it. Using a dirty shirt to wrap a six-inch wide gash is not a smart idea, but what other choice did we have? We couldn't just leave it open. That would be asking for him to die.

James caught me staring from across the Hell Hole. He raised a brow and then followed my gaze. He winced when he saw it for himself.

"We should have cleaned it with one of our waters," I commented. He cringed just thinking about it.

"I don't think I could have handled it," he said quietly. I sighed again. (We were doing that a lot lately).

"We'll have to do it tomorrow, with one of the breakfast cups of water," I said. He winced and nodded, admitting I was right. Absentmindedly, he started to gently rub his arm, trying to dull the pain.

The door opened again and light flooded Hell.

"Oh Siri, do be a dear and come up now," Bellatrix called. I gritted my teeth. I hated that nickname. I don't know who started it, but I hate it. And that was probably why she said it. I glanced over at James, able to see now just how pale he was. He was grimacing, but he met my gaze.

"Good luck," he said. "Don't do anything stupid," he added as an afterthought. I was magically pulled to my feet, hitting my head the same way James had.

"Like you're one to talk," I said back to him as I was hauled up the stairs. I caught a glimpse of him smiling before Bella became impatient.

I was dragged to the middle of a big room. I counted seven Death Eaters standing around the perimeter. Had they been here when James was up here too?

Bellatrix walked around me slowly.

"So…little cousin…are we not good enough for you anymore?" Bellatrix asked. "Is the Black family name not good enough for you? _Crucio_!"

It was like being hit with a thousand bludgers at once all over, again and again. The pain kept intensifying. Distantly I could hear someone screaming. Wait, that was me, wasn't it?

The pain was gone at once, leaving me gasping for air on the floor like a fish out of water. I looked up at Bella and slowly got to my feet. She smiled maliciously.

"You're much stronger than your friend down there. He didn't even try and get up," she said. "Then again, I suppose that should be expected of a Black. _Crucio!_"

I was on the floor writhing in pain before I was even fully aware of what was going on. James hadn't even tried to fight? That doesn't sound right…

And somehow, through all this, I remembered that James could hear me from the Hell Hole. I clamped my jaw shut and endured silently, which I think made Bella angrier.

She let up on the curse. I struggled to my knees. She knelt down in front of me. Her eyes held nothing but hatred for me.

"Did you manage to find out anything useful at least while you were there?" she asked me. "Did you find out anything on the aurors movements?"

She was making it sound like I had been a spy. And how would I know anyway? I wasn't an auror.

But James' father was.

The realization hit me like a ton of bricks. They wanted information from us, information we couldn't give them because we didn't know. And how long would they keep us alive when they realized we really didn't know anything?

The answer: Not very long. So I was going to have to play this for all it was worth.

"Why would I tell you anything?" I said, very pleased with the amount of steel in my voice. Not bad for someone who'd just been Crucio'd twice.

Bella's lips curled into a smile. She raised her wand at me.

Now I'll be the first to admit I wasn't thinking when I did what I did next. I think some kind of animal instinct must have kicked in. All I know is that I lunged forward and pushed her wand away towards the ceiling where the curse caused some of the plaster to fall.

I rolled out of the way, leaving Bella alone to endure the falling ceiling. She screamed. I don't know how-Quidditch instinct I guess-but I knew that a Death Eater was coming up behind me. I turned, grabbed the outstretched wand, and punched him right in the face.

All Hell broke loose from there.

Wands were forgotten as we resorted to Muggle dueling. I'd often sparred with Frank Longbottom when we had spare time, as this art of defense fascinated us, so I knew how to throw a punch, as well as where.

There is something to be said for strength in numbers though, and soon I was beaten, bloody, sore, and being tossed down the stairs into Hell Hole, where I landed in a crumpled heap at the base of the stairs.

James' reaction: "I thought I told you not to do anything stupid."

End Chapter

_And so Sirius has a plan worthy of Gryffindor. Please critique! And if you see me bouncing between tenses, please let me know! I'm trying to fix that. _


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Dumbledore's office was crowded. He himself sat behind his desk with his fingers laced under his chin. Mr. and Mrs. Potter sat in the seats in front of his desk. Mrs. Potter was crying and dabbing at her eyes occasionally with a handkerchief. Mr. Potter held her hand, his face depressed. Around the room various members of the Order of the Phoenix stood, as well as several Hogwarts professors.

Dumbledore looked down at the note on his desk once more. It was a ransom note for a James Potter and Sirius Black, stating that if Charles Potter gave himself over to the Death Eaters they'd let the boys go. The longer they waited however, the more information they would try and pry out of the boys. If they waited too long, it was likely the boys would already be dead.

It was signed by one Bellatrix Lestrange. It broke Dumbledore's heart to see the signature: Bellatrix had graduated Hogwarts not even five years ago. He blamed himself of course for the way she had turned out, always thinking that if he'd done something more when he could have, maybe things would have been different.

"What are we going to do?" Annie Potter asked. Tears were still streaming down her face, and she was making no effort to hide them.

"We can try and trace the boys. What to do when we find them though is the trick," Alastair Moody, better known as Mad-eye, said. "We don't know how well they're guarded or what we'd be getting ourselves into. We don't even know if the boys will be able to walk on their own, and that could make all the difference in the escape."

Charles sighed. "I have to turn myself over, isn't it obvious?" he said, choosing to keep his gaze on the floor.

"Nonsense," Professor McGonagall said. "If you hand yourself over, who's to say they won't keep the boys as leverage against you? Or even outright kill them? They won't keep their word."

"Minerva is right," Kingsley said as he took a few steps out of the shadows. "Turning yourself over will only mean they get what they want, with the added bonus of a way to make you talk."

Charles sighed again and put his head in his hand.

"They're only boys though…" Annie said quietly.

"Those boys are sixth year Hogwarts Gryffindors. They can handle it. For all we know, they might have even found a way out already and are making their way towards us," Moody said. No one in the room believed it, not even Moody himself.

"You've been quiet Albus, what do you suggest?" McGonagall asked. Dumbledore sighed.

"I believe we should check likely places Bellatrix would have taken them and scout the areas. We'll see if we can find them this way. If we have not found them by the time the school term starts, we will try a different angle," Dumbledore said. The Potters looked at him, the tiniest bit of hope in their eyes. Dumbledore prayed they wouldn't be too late.

End Chapter

_Please review and let me know you're reading! Constructive criticism is welcome!_


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

_James' POV_

I cleaned Sirius' cuts up as best I could. He said he was fine, just a little sore and tired. I rolled my eyes at him.

"What about you? How's your arm?" he asked. I glanced down at it briefly.

"It hurts. It's going to hurt. I've decided not to think about it," I stated. He smiled, re-opening his split lip. He winced at that.

"Rotten luck when you can't even smile without bleeding," he said as he fingered it. I shook my head. We'd resumed the same positions as earlier, across from each other and leaning against the wall. I kept my right arm wrapped around my torso.

"What did you do to provoke them?" I asked. He smiled again, drawing forth beads of blood on his lip again.

"I punched one. Oh, and Bellatrix got to find out what it's like to have a ceiling fall on her," he added. My eyes widened and my jaw dropped. His barking laughter filled the Hell Hole. Remus always swore it was contagious. I've never appreciated that until now, when I started laughing along with him.

It took a few moments for us to calm down. I was holding my arm again, something he didn't fail to notice. Thankfully he didn't comment on it. There was nothing he could do anyway.

We passed the night that way, leaning against the walls. It wasn't until Rudolph appeared with a loud crack that we woke up. He placed our breakfast on the floor and disappeared again with another crack while we were still rubbing the sleep out of our eyes.

Sirius was closest so he handed me the food which I did my best to juggle with, finally managing to balance it on one leg. He was frowning as he held out my water cup. He pulled it back though before I could take it. I raised a brow.

"James." Uh oh. He used my real name. Bad sign. "Look, we have to wash your cut. It could become infected if we don't," he said, looking me straight in the eye. I sighed. "We can share one cup of water and then use the second to wash your arm."

I absolutely hate it when he's right. Especially when I know he is and just don't want to face it.

"Alright," I admitted defeat. "Let's do it before we eat," I said, putting my plate on the ground. Sirius put his next to mine and kneeled next to me. He gingerly took my arm and started unwrapping the bandage. I cringed and looked away, staring instead at the plates of eggs, toast, and bacon. Once again I wondered what the point of feeding us so well was. What could they possibly be trying to keep us alive for?

The smell hit me first, foul and disgusting. Next was Sirius' gasp of surprise. I turned to look at him out of reflex and followed his gaze down to my arm. I gasped myself, but probably for a different reason.

A bruise had formed around the gash, which wasn't surprising. But it wasn't just black and blue. There were tints of green following particular patterns all along my upper arm, which was cause for concern. It had swollen as well and my entire upper arm was red and sore.

"Man, you should be complaining more," Sirius said. I looked up at him as he picked up the water. I eyed it warily.

"Just wait a few moments, I'm sure I'll be cursing up a storm," I said. He laughed. He tilted the cup to pour some of the water out. He only poured a little, but it felt like he'd just poured acid on my arm. I clamped my jaw shut to keep from crying out.

He apologized again and again as he tore another part of his shirt and tried to wipe away the dirt and dried blood. All I was aware of was the white hot pain in my arm. Strangled yelps escaped me, and Sirius apologized after every one.

"There, done," he said at last. I looked down to see the sleeve of his shirt wrapped around my arm.

"You know, there's only so many times we can re-bandage this before we run out of clothes," I commented. He cocked his head at me, a smile tugging at his lips. I smiled and he burst out laughing. This is how sad our life has become, where we can make bad jokes and then crack up about them. He stopped abruptly, clutching his side.

"Ow, okay, found a bruise," he said. I chuckled and shook my head. I passed him his plate of food, which he took gratefully, and then picked up my own plate. I ended up just setting it down on the floor in front of me and eating it that way.

We passed the water cup back and forth between us when we were done, each taking no more than a few sips at a time. When it was drained he set it down on the floor next to the plates. Rudolph came and gathered it all, before he could leave, Sirius grabbed his arm. I've never seen a house elf look more mutinous.

"Hey, we've been wondering what your name is," Sirius said. The elf kept glaring at him. "I'm Sirius, and this is James," he went right along. The elf looked at me briefly before returning his gaze to Sirius.

"Toffie," he said. Sirius smiled and repeated the name as he let go of Toffie's arm. Toffie hesitated before disapparating with a crack.

"What are you playing at?" I asked him. I resumed my earlier position leaning against the wall.

"If we can make friends with that elf he can bring us stuff we need. Like bandages for you or maybe some blankets at night," he explained. I nodded. It wasn't a bad idea, and it was certainly worth a shot.

Nothing else happened that day. No one called either of us up. Toffie came bringing dinner: slices of ham with some kind of pineapple casserole. Sirius tried to clean my arm again, but I argued that we'd run out of clothing in a few days at that rate and to just leave it be. I didn't tell him what I knew to be true, that it was useless to try and keep out infection.

My arm was already infected. In that one night, it had become infected. I wouldn't be surprised if there had been something on the dagger to speed up infection too, maybe even to make it hurt more.

Sirius fell asleep before me this time, his chin resting on his chest. Just to make sure, I waited until I heard his snores before letting any tears escape from the corners of my eyes.

It's a sad thing when you've given up hope and consciously resigned yourself to die.

End Chapter

_Merry Christmas! Make me happy and review please?_


	5. Chapter 5

_Chapter 5_

_Sirius' POV_

I slept right through the night, not waking up until Toffie came in with our food. It may not have been much, but the food was slightly warmer than what we were used to. Not enough for steam to be curling off of it, but enough that we weren't worried about it freezing. James and I both thanked him for it. He nodded in acknowledgement before disapparating with a crack.

We were both silent as we ate our meal.

"How many days d'you reckon until all of Hogwarts knows we're missing?" I asked. James thought about it a moment as he finished off his breakfast.

"Well, we've been here five…that's half our break right there. Five days before the rest of the school knows. Assuming they don't know already from the _Prophet_," he said. I snorted.

"Please, the _Prophet_? Why on Earth would they report the disappearance of two teenagers?" James shrugged. Hmm. Not like him. He'll usually go along with me on that…Oh well. He's probably tired or something.

We set our plates down in the usual spot for Toffie, who appeared right on time. "Thank you Toffie. That was delicious," I said, making sure to lay it on thick. As of right now, this house elf was our only way out. "Do you make this yourself?"

Toffie shook his head. "Another elf, sirs, often beaten for preparing such good meals." Even I heard the barely contained anger in his voice.

"That's very kind of the elf. Can you secretly give him our regards?" James said. Toffie nodded, a smile playing at his mouth. He disappeared with a crack.

"He's warming up to us yet," I said. I leaned back against the wall and stretched my legs out all the way to the other wall. It hurt to stretch from the bruises and such, yet at the same time it felt really good. James curled his knees up to his chest, cradling his arm. I frowned. It's bothering him a lot more than he'll tell me, which in turn bothers me.

But there's nothing I can do anyway, so what difference does it make? James is just being a true Gryffindor and sucking it up. Besides, it's not like we're not strangers to pain. Dear old Poppy knows us better than any other students!

We sat in silence. If we'd had anything to talk about, we would have. But when you're in the same room for five days not a lot happens. And we already know about each other's pasts. We're running out of escape options, especially now that he's hurt, and there's only so many times you can go over them anyway.

Really, the only thing we haven't discussed is why we're here. When we did, it was an open and close conversation. They want us for information. We don't have said information. We are ultimately doomed.

But there has to be something else…They wouldn't be delaying it this long if that were all.

…

"There's some other reason we're here," I said aloud. James looked up. We made eye contact. For the first time, I saw just how hopeless he felt. His eyes had the shadows around them that Remus gets just after the full moon.

"What do you mean?" he asked. He was absentmindedly rubbing his sore arm again. I didn't pay it any attention.

"They wouldn't be delaying this long if all they wanted was information. They'd be going all out on us," I explained. His eyes lit up a bit with this news. He knew I was right. He slammed his head back against the wall.

"Damn…you're right. I think I know why…or at least a very good guess," he said wryly. I cocked my head, prompting him to continue. "They want to know what information my dad knows, and they targeted us. If they got lucky, we'd know as well, or at least something. If not, then they can still use us as bait to lure my dad here," he said. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.

"Damn," I said. This time he was right. "That has to be why. There's no other reason to kidnap two teenagers who haven't previously bothered them."

We each stayed silently, wandering in this new turn of events. I don't know how long we stayed that way.

"Well, at least that gives us some more longevity," I said. He glanced down at his arm again before replying.

"Yeah, I guess it does," he said quietly. He knows something I don't, something about his arm.

"You know, I can see you constantly glancing down at your arm," I said, finally fed up enough with it. "Spill. What do you know?"

He sighed, but didn't answer.

Never good.

"James, tell me what's wrong," I said. He shook his head. I frowned. "If you think I can't handle it, then you're sadly mistaken. You of all people should know what I can handle."

He sighed again. "It's nothing. I'm probably wrong anyway," he muttered. I raised a brow. I would have kept the argument going (it was something to _do_ after-all) but the door opened, blinding us with the extra light. We each raised a hand to shield our eyes.

"Remember, act like you know something," I muttered under my breath. "It should buy us time."

"Or get us killed faster," he commented. This person descended the stairs, making them creak like some kind of warning. Had they creaked before? I couldn't remember. It had never seemed important. It still isn't really that important.

"You're coming up together," a man's voice said. There was a weird accent that I couldn't place, and the voice itself sent chills up my spine. It was cold and deep, and he spoke slowly, adding to the fear.

He turned and started going back up the stairs. Neither James nor I had moved yet. We gave each other a look.

"_Now_," the man accentuated. We were both jolted unkindly to our feet, James hitting the low ceiling. I'm pretty sure dust fell. He grunted, but otherwise didn't react.

We were hauled up the stairs, almost like an invisible rope was around us, and dragged to the center of the large room. We both looked around nervously, taking in the sight of the many Death Eaters guarding the perimeter. They'd added since I was up here….hmm, can't possibly be because of me, can it? I mean, it's not like I tried to escape or anything and took out a few of them in the process….

Heh, can't keep a straight face while thinking about that!

"What are you smiling at?" the man asked, his voice quicker than before. I focused my attention on him. He had several scars on his angular face, all old and faded. His black hair was kind of shaggy, hanging around his face menacingly. His blue eyes were like ice, staring into our very minds.

"I just think it's funny that alone and unarmed I took out a few armed Death Eaters," I said proudly. The man frowned and slapped me, jerking my head down. James stiffened next to me. I let out another chuckle, just to annoy this guy more.

"I don't have to let you live you know," he said. He pulled a knife out of his belt. "You're of no use to us…you're a blood traitor, family traitor, and no one important will care if you die." He ran his finger along the edge of the blade, looking at me.

James will absolutely hate me for this later, but at the moment, this was the only way to save my life. So he'll forgive me.

"No use you say? Even if I know something that you desperately want to know?" James whipped his head around to look at me, his eyes wide. I didn't return the gaze.

The man before me froze for a moment before throwing his head back and laughing. "I like you kid. You're throwing your cards on the table just right," he said. "But how far can you throw them before they flip over and reveal your whole hand?" he asked.

I smirked, which had to have looked pretty gruesome considering all the bruises on my face and bits of dried blood. "I guess you'll just have to wait and see." Because I have no idea.

The man circled around the two of us, stopping in front of James this time. He gazed at the poor bandage on his arm.

"Well well, what have we here," he said. In the blink of an eye, he punched James solidly on the arm. James grabbed his arm as I turned to face him. His knees gave out and he fell to the ground. I caught him halfway, knowing he wouldn't save himself from crashing onto the floor. His eyes were screwed shut in pain, his mouth open in a silent scream. He was shaking badly.

The man laughed. I glared up at him. "What the _bloody Hell_ did you do that for?" I yelled. That shut him up.

"How dare you talk to me like that?" he yelled right back. There was equal hate in our eyes as we glared at each other. We've surpassed daggers at this point, onto something more like wands or those muggle contraptions-lasers.

He took a step towards me. I watched him, not doing anything as he moved closer. "I guess you're the tough one, eh?" he mocked. I narrowed my eyes more at him. He smiled.

"How about this? You tell me what I want to know, and I'll let him go back downstairs? And if you cooperate, I might even send down real bandages. Hell, I might even be tempted to send down medicine," he said. Damn. He's playing his own cards well.

I gritted my teeth. The one thing James really needs, and I can't get it for him. I could always try and bluff, but that might only lead to more trouble…

"Don't even think about it," James said through gritted teeth. He forced himself to his feet, holding his arm for dear life. I stood up next to him. "It's going to take a lot more than _that _to get information from us."

The man nodded. "Admirable. Very much like a Gryffindor." He spun the knife between his fingers.

"Who are you anyway?" James asked. The man smiled, apparently having been waiting for the question.

"You may call me Raston. I'm the one who's going to find out just what you know, and quickly."

He seemed incredibly proud of this fact. Well, James and I will just have to fix that.

"What happened to Bellatrix?" James asked. Raston smirked.

"She's gone away on another mission for the Dark Lord. But don't worry, she'll be back. And I'm sure she'll love hearing about the damage her knife did," Raston said, looking pointedly at James' arm.

Both of us locked our jaws. Old habits I suppose. Wasn't like it would do anything.

"Now, I'll ask you nicely the first time: What information have you heard from your father?" Raston asked. He was turned away, exposing his back to us. I wanted to kick him so badly…just one good, sound kick in the middle of his back. James grabbed my arm though to stop me, probably guessing my thoughts. He shook his head slightly.

Neither of us answered the question.

"Playing the silent game, eh? Good. It's more fun this way. Especially my way." He turned around to face us again. "You see, I've discovered that muggles have incredibly effective ways of making people talk, ways that bother people much more than magic. James here can attest to that," Raston said, pointing with his chin to James' arm again. James narrowed his eyes and clenched his fists.

Raston turned away from us and faced the wall again. No decorations of any sort were there. The room was empty save for the people in it. There was no furniture, no wall hangings. There were only two doors: One leading out of the room, and one leading down to the Hell Hole.

I looked around at all the Death Eaters surrounding us. If I could just get hold of a wand…

Raston turned back to look at us, his icy eyes trying desperately to bore holes in us. He put the knife back in his belt and pulled a wand out of his robes. "_Crucio_!" he yelled, pointing it James.

James doubled over, his knees giving out and slamming into the ground. I was too shocked to do anything.

"Tell me what you know, and I'll stop," Raston yelled. I grit my teeth and went down to the ground as well, putting an arm around James. He was trying not to scream.

It was killing me.

Seeing my best mate suffering, knowing I could do something to stop it, but not being able to.

Because I don't have the information he wanted. I can't stop this.

Raston waited a few moments before pushing the spell harder, and James couldn't stop the screams that escaped from his mouth. He curled into himself, trying most likely to make himself smaller so it wouldn't hurt as much.

I felt awful, but I closed my eyes to the site. I couldn't stand to see him like this. And it's my fault.

"Damn you to Hell," I spat at Raston. He just laughed and increased the spell again.

End Chapter

_I have to say, I love this chapter. It came out really well. Although I suppose an authors opinion is biased. Please review! They all make me really happy!_


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

_James' POV_

Fire and pain. That was all my senses could identify. Merlin, how I wanted to die! Death seemed like such a nice option right now.

And it was getting worse. How could this possibly become any worse?

Sirius' voice made its way through to my mind. "Stop it!"

And the pain was suddenly gone. I fell forward, just barely managing to catch myself with my hands. I was trembling all over and my eyesight was blurred despite my glasses.

I heard someone cry out in pain and then land on the floor next to me. I looked over slightly and made out Sirius' form. He was tightly holding something, but I couldn't make out if it was his arm or his side. I couldn't even make out what expression he was trying to make.

"You alright?" he asked me. Unbelievable.

"Me? What about you? Are you alright?" I asked him. He smirked. I think.

"Nothing I can't live through," he said. I rolled my eyes.

"Impressive, Mr. Black, but you'll have to do better than that," Raston said. I looked up and saw red on his face. He was holding a hand to it. "But you'll have to do better than that."

He aimed his wand at Sirius this time. If I could have moved, I would have done something-jumped in the way most likely. Sirius was hit with the Cruciatus curse, and from the sounds of his screaming, he was hit hard.

Something in me snapped then. I can't explain it, but it was like I just stopped caring completely about what would happen to me, to Sirius. Like dieing meant nothing any more, and that pain was simply there, nothing else. I had no longer simply resigned myself to death, I was looking for it.

I jumped to my feet and lunged at Raston. I caught him off guard and we fell to the floor. Sirius' screams were cut off as the source of the connection was lost. Raston's wand flew from his hand, rolling across the floor. I started punching Raston violently, drawing blood easily from his nose.

It sickens me, but I'll admit I felt some sort of sadistic pleasure as his nose cracked under my knuckles. And it didn't bother me at all that my arm was throbbing at the exertion. It only added to the force I hit him with.

If only it could have been that simple. I found out the hard way that day that Raston is a fighter, and he hates losing. He's also not afraid of dueling like a muggle, despite his supposed hatred for them.

He used his legs to push me off and stood up. He grabbed the collar of my shirt and hauled me to my feet. I punched him in the gut. He didn't let go. I felt Sirius stand up next to me.

Raston spit the blood in his mouth at me. I didn't even flinch. I would not give this monster the satisfaction. He quickly punched me across the face, sending me sprawling to the ground. But my mind was numb to the pain right now. I stood back up again, anger and adrenaline fueling me like never before.

I threw a punch at him again. Raston avoided it. He really did have a lot of blood on his face, and his nose was swelling. Raston caught my arm and shoved the heel of his hand into my chest, knocking the wind out of me. He quickly had me in a chokehold, and little lights were already starting to pop in front of my eyes.

I heard him being punched again, in the face from the sound of it. His grip on me loosened enough to let air into my lungs. I elbowed him forcefully in the ribs and ducked out of his grasp. I heard Sirius fall to the ground and turn to see him holding his side again.

"Take them down!" Raston shouted. He was quickly scurrying away from us. The Death Eaters around the room jumped into action and multiple cries of "Stupefy!" rang out. Red beams were the last thing I saw for a long time.

Xx

The first thing I noticed when I came to again was pain, and a lot of it. Everything ached, especially my arm, though I wasn't surprised. I tried to sit up, not realizing that I'm not usually laying down anymore, and moaned as more bruises began making themselves known.

"Easy," I heard Sirius' voice say. "Might be better if you stay down." I ignored him and forced myself to a somewhat upright position. Sirius was sitting on the stairs much the same way we sat on the floor, leaning against the wall and stretching out along the stair. He had one knee bent to keep himself upright.

"How long have I been out?" I asked. My voice was rough, which suggested several hours if not a day. He shrugged, and I noticed the slight wince and his hand wrap around his torso.

"A few hours since I woke up. You were the bigger threat at the time they stunned us, so more of them aimed for you," he answered. I nodded, the scenes playing over in my head. Distantly, I wondered if there was another reason I had been unconscious longer, but I didn't worry about it. It didn't really matter.

I forced myself to move so I could lean against a wall again. I let out a huge breath when I finally succeeded. Everything just hurt so much!

"Told you it might be better to stay down," he said. I glared up at him. He smiled, but then it turned into a frown when I held my arm again.

We sat there in silence for a few more minutes. It seemed colder than usual in here.

"Hey, James?" Sirius asked. He had that sound in his voice that said he knew something he shouldn't, and he didn't like it.

But what could he possibly know down here?

"Yeah Padfoot?" I prompted when he didn't continue. He wouldn't meet my gaze at first, and when he did, I wished he hadn't. There was just so much pain in his eyes…

"When were you going to tell me that your arm is infected?" he asked. My breath caught in my throat.

"How did you-"

"Toffie came while you were still out and I figured it would be better to wash the cut while you were unconscious." He stopped there. I looked down guiltily at my arm. "Your arm was a sickly green. It wasn't hard to figure out that you've known for awhile now."

There was a sense of betrayal in his voice. I hated myself for it, for causing that.

"I'm sorry," I said. "I just…I didn't think it would make a difference if you knew."

"Of course it would have Prongs! I would have been trying harder to get out of here! I wouldn't have worried about fighting all the Death Eaters, just enough to get out and get help!" he exclaimed. He turned on the step so both feet were on the last one. He winced and grabbed his side, but that wild look on his face was still there.

I felt like a little kid who'd just been caught with his hand in the cookie jar. I couldn't meet his gaze.

"I'm sorry," I repeated quietly. He sighed, and I turned slightly to see him run a hand through his hair the way he does when extremely frustrated.

My arm was throbbing again. I tried to put pressure on it, but that only made it hurt worse. I sighed and leaned my head back against the wall, only to jerk forward again as I coughed. The blasted things racked my whole frame.

"Ow…" I said when they finally subsided. I rubbed my throat, trying to soothe it.

"James…?" Sirius asked uncertainly. I looked over at him. He slowly got to his feet, stooping a little to avoid the ceiling. He came over next to me. "You okay?" he asked. I shrugged and leaned my head against the wall again, feeling overwhelmingly tired. He put his hand on my forehead. I looked up at him, more than a little confused at the action.

He frowned and pulled away, leaning against the opposite wall.

"You have a fever…" he said quietly. Normally I would have been perfectly fine with this. Fevers aren't a big deal. They certainly don't keep me out of class.

But considering the conditions we're 'living' in right now, and the fact that my arm is infected, the fever is only the beginning. And considering the coughing fit I just had, the fever settled in hours ago.

"Damn," I said. There was a crack, and Toffie appeared. He had a red welt on the side of his face.

"Oh no, Toffie…did they hurt you?" Sirius asked. Toffie said nothing, but set the food down on the floor.

"I'm sorry if that happened because of us," I said. Toffie nodded in my direction before disappearing with another crack.

"Well, the quality of the food has certainly gone down," Sirius said as he picked up the plates. It was some sort of gruel that didn't at all look appetizing.

"That's an understatement," I said. At least there was a spoon.

"This is gross," Sirius said. He spooned more into his mouth anyway. I hesitantly lifted a spoonful to eye level. Some of it slipped over the sides and fell back down.

"I don't think I'm that hungry," I said, putting the spoon down.

"James, you're sick. Eat the disgusting food," he said. I looked over at him. He was fixing me with such a glare that I ate the disgusting food. I hated every bite of it, but I ate all of it.

End Chapter

_Yeah, not much to say on this one. Please review and let me know you're reading!_


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

An owl tapped on the window, waking Charlie Potter from his sleep. He rubbed the last remnants from his eyes and threw the sheet off himself. The stone floor was cold, but that was nothing new in Hogwarts. He and his wife were staying there while the search went on for James and Sirius. This was more of a precaution so Charlie didn't try and turn himself in.

Charlie opened the window and the owl flew in, landing on the shelf adjacent to the window. There was a note attached to its leg that took Charlie a few moments of fumbling to untie.

_Dear Potters,_

_I'm surprised you haven't responded yet. We thought for sure you loved James and Sirius more than this. Oh well, I guess we all make mistakes. I just thought you'd want to know that your son has a nasty gash on his right arm that was caused by a poisoned blade a few days ago, and it has since become infected. It's likely he won't survive the week, even if we were to leave him alone. _

_Have a nice day,_

_Raston._

Charlie shook as he reread the letter. Annie woke up and saw his trembling, and the letter in his hand. She was out of the bed in an instant and walking over to see who it was from. He wordlessly passed the letter over to her.

She read it, gasping when she finished. "James…no…We have to talk to Dumbledore!" she cried, running out of the room. Charlie ran after her, agreeing with her wholeheartedly.

If anyone knew what to do, Dumbledore would.

End Chapter

_Please, please review! I need more feedback! Please! See, now you've reduced me to begging! Please review!_


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

_Sirius' POV_

Our sense of time is so screwed up here thanks to that length of time we were unconscious. We gave up trying to keep track. James is mostly sleeping now anyway, and when he's not he looks like he should be. Raston hasn't called us back up for what we think is a few days.

I'm sore and don't feel like moving, but at the same time I'm restless. I wish I could play Quidditch again. I wish we could get out of here, that none of this was happening.

James realized it right away. I was too stubborn to see it, but seeing James sick the way he is made me give in to reality. We likely won't get out of here, not on our own. I try not to think of it; I'm too stubborn to accept the idea that we'll die here.

James woke up in another coughing fit. It's a good thing he's not the one with the broken rib, or that would be incredibly painful. He leaned back against the wall, sighing. He was doing that a lot lately.

"How're you feeling?" I asked. I really didn't want to know the answer, but blast it all at least it was something to _do_.

"I'd rather not say," he answered. He had his eyes closed. "I'm not sure what's worse," he started. "Reality, or the dreams."

I repositioned myself a little. This place has been becoming increasingly cramped. "I know what you mean," I said. I started picking at a spot between the stones. "If it's not one torture, it's another."

"I thought they wanted us alive," he muttered. I looked up briefly. He had his knees bent up as much as he could, cradling his right arm. His left hand stayed wrapped around his cut.

"They won't keep us alive forever," I stated. I went back to picking at the spot.

"Why'd it have to be winter? It's freezing down here," he muttered. I looked up at him, a brow raised. What's he talking about? It's actually pretty warm down here.

"It's not that bad," I commented. He looked at me, the same way I'm looking at him. His face was slightly flushed from the fever.

His fever.

Of course.

He's emitting off heat from the fever, so of course I think it's warm. Meanwhile his body can't stay warm, so he's freezing.

"James, you've become a space heater," I said, shaking my head. I explained to him what I meant.

"Glad to know this fever is doing one of us a favor," he muttered. I frowned.

The door opened, letting in a lot more light than we're used to. "Mr. Black. Would you be so kind as to come up here?" Raston's voice carried down. I carefully stood up so he wouldn't force me up.

"Sirius, if you can get out, then go. Forget about me. Just get out," James said. I turned to look at him. He had a wild look in his eyes, whether from the fever or from what he was saying I wasn't sure.

"You know I can't abandon you like that," I said.

"I'm as good as dead anyway. Get out if you can," he said. Hearing him say that…to put it so bluntly…I don't have the words to describe it.

Raston became impatient and pulled out his wand, forcing me up the stairs. This time they tied me to a chair. They weren't taking any chances, apparently.

"Well, little cousin, it's nice to see you," Bellatrix's voice said from behind me. I stiffened up immediately. Oh Hell no. Please let that be an illusion! She walked out in front of me. "Did you miss me?" she asked. No. That wasn't an illusion. Bellatrix is really here.

Well, it was nice living.

They asked me to tell them what I knew. I stayed silent. Raston punched me. Bellatrix used Crucio. They asked again. I stayed silent. Raston took his knife and started making patterns on my arm. Bella used Crucio. They asked again. I spat at the floor by their feet. (Not the brightest thing I'll admit). Raston punched me again, hard. My left eye swelled shut in the following few minutes. Bellatrix used Crucio, longer this time.

They asked again. I remained silent. They threatened to bring James up. My head jerked up and looked at them. They had satisfied little smirks on their faces.

"Leave him alone. He doesn't need your help," I said. Bellatrix motioned to a Death Eater.

"Bring the other one up. And be gentle. I hear he has a bad arm," she said, giggling. _Giggling_ of all things. I wanted to smack her so much…

"You'll talk now, won't you?" Raston asked, bending down to be eye level with me. The new scar on his face was pink and fleshy still, standing out against the other pale ones. I'm extremely proud I did that. I'm not entirely sure how, but I'm proud of it all the same. I've left my mark on him. He'll never be able to look in the mirror now without thinking _That little punk got one on me_.

"Sirius!" James voice cried out. My head swiveled to look at him. I wanted to turn away, and then felt ashamed at that.

James looked even worse in the light. His face clearly showed the fever he had. His skin was a chalky pale color. The infection was spreading too down to his elbow, something I hadn't noticed in the Hell Hole.

And he was worried about _me?_

I smiled, stepping into my Gryffindor role. "I'm fine. They'll have to try harder," I said. My voice sounded much more convincing than I felt. And James knew it too. He frowned.

"Oh, we can do more, if you like," Raston said. His hand shot forward and punched me square in the face, successfully breaking my nose and sending me backwards on the chair. Unfortunately, my head hit the ground first, and I blacked out for a few moments.

"I did a very nice job here," Bellatrix's voice said. I heard James' barely audible hiss of pain. She must be prodding the wound then. Meaning it's likely un-bandaged. I felt myself being tilted forward as someone picked up the chair. It's a rather odd sensation, actually.

Warm, sticky blood was trailing down from my nose and into my mouth. I spit it out. Raston laughed.

"What's the matter? Blood taste so horrible to you?" he asked. I glared at him, which I'm sure didn't look that impressive considering half of my face is swollen and I'm only successfully glaring with one eye.

I heard James cry out and Bellatrix squeal with delight. "Looky here, it will still bleed!" she said. What? Why that filthy, no-good, lying, cheating, needs-to-die, _wench_! Bellatrix laughed, but was soon quickly cut off with the sound of a punch.

Before anyone else could move, before Bellatrix even hit the floor, Raston had a fistful of James' hair with the edge of the knife against his throat. He whispered something in James' ear, to which James just smiled.

"Go ahead and kill me Raston. I've only got a few days anyway. You'll be doing me a favor," James said. How can he take it so calmly? Raston sneered in disgust.

"Think you're brave? Think that saying you're not afraid to die makes you better than us?" Raston asked. He pushed the edge of the dagger slightly harder.

I was trembling in fear. James couldn't die…not here, not now…not like this.

"Oh, I'm scared to die all right," James said. He had a wicked smile on his face, the kind that he always got when he had a particularly nasty prank planned. "I've just accepted that death will come, and that it will come much sooner than I thought."

How could he say such a thing? How can he be so calm about it? Meanwhile I'm sitting here, trembling, and being forced to hear such a thing! Damn it James! How can you say that?

Bellatrix got back to her feet. All sense of playfulness was gone from her face. She was livid, and she was going to take it out on James if it was the last thing she did.

"Ready to die then?" Raston asked. He drew little beads of blood on James' neck.

"But you can't kill me. If you kill me, then you lose every chance of capturing my father," James reminded them.

That…

He just…

That was bloody brilliant!

Raston grimaced, but he let up on the pressure he was using on the dagger. James continued. "I have no information you want. You can't kill me yet, and I'll die in a few days anyway. You might as well just throw me back downstairs and forget about me."

And Raston thought I was throwing down my cards…James was _placing_ his bloody cards! And Raston knew it too, he knew that in his own way, James had won.

He threw James down to the floor, kicking him in the side for good measure. "Take this thing out of my sight," he said. The Death Eater who had brought James up grabbed him roughly by the arm, _the right arm_, and threw him down the stairs all the way from the door. I heard him tumbling down until they slammed the door.

Raston and Bellatrix turned their attention back to me, and they looked murderous.

"You'd better talk now, or you will be dead," Bellatrix said, pointing her wand at me. She took slow, deliberate steps towards me. Never, in all my life, not even from my mother, had I ever seen such malice in someone's eyes.

I didn't say anything. I didn't know what to say. I was going to have to make something up…anything…

She didn't give me the chance.

"_Crucio_!"

End Chapter

_I'm so mean to those two. What a way for them to spend Christmas, right? _

_**Please read!**_

_I'm not sure if I want to actually kill either of them, and which one to kill if I do off one. Please vote on whether or not you want either to die or not at all. _

_And as always, review! _


	9. Chapter 9

_Wow. Didn't expect that kind of response. Just to let you know…all who have reviewed have successfully scared me into obedience. Heh. _

Chapter 9

Remus was worried. He hadn't heard from Sirius or James all break, and then he couldn't even find them on the train. He and Peter ended up in a compartment with Lily Evans and her friends. So naturally, he didn't bring up the topic. Remus tried to avoid conflict when he could.

Now he _still_ couldn't find them in the dorms or the common room or the kitchens. They have to be planning something, but what could it be? And why didn't they want him or Peter involved?

Remus reasoned they'd have to come to bed at some point, so he settled down with a good book and decided to wait for them. He fell asleep by mistake around two in the morning. They still hadn't shown themselves.

Classes started the following morning. Remus and Peter figured they had to show up for that.

They didn't, and Professor McGonagall didn't even ask where they were.

James and Sirius never showed up the entire day. No professor asked where they were. That, to Remus, was the strangest thing of all. They had to have realized that their classes weren't being disturbed? And why would students skip class on the first day back from break? That wasn't like James and Sirius, and never for a whole day.

Other people noticed as well. It wasn't hard to realize that the two biggest troublemakers in school weren't there. Remus and Peter constantly had people asking them what the two were planning. Remus and Peter had no idea, and they answered such.

Not many people believed them.

It was quite by accident, really, when Remus found Mr. Potter in a lonely hall.

"Mr. Potter? What are you doing here?" asked an incredulous werewolf. Mr. Potter looked at Remus. Remus had never seen such a haunted look in a man's eyes before.

"Remus…" was all he said. Tears began to well up in the man's eyes.

"Sir, where are James and Sirius?" Remus asked. This, was apparently the wrong thing to say. Mr. Potter squeezed his eyes shut and slumped against the wall, sliding onto the floor. "Sir?" Remus kneeled down next to him. He wasn't entirely sure what was going on.

"They have them…they took them…they want me as an exchange…" he muttered. "No one will let me go…James is dieing…"

"What?" Remus exclaimed. Mr. Potter had Remus' full attention now. "Sir, who took them? Where are they?" He had to find them if they were in trouble…as usual.

"The Death Eaters…we went out Christmas shopping for the boys…and when we came back…they were gone…it's all my fault…"

Remus leaned back on his heels. This was impossible…James and Sirius couldn't have been kidnapped, they were too strong for that.

Mr. Potter started sobbing, bewildering poor Remus further. He did the only thing he could think of doing and coaxed the man to his feet and began leading him to the hospital wing. A few times Mr. Potter's knees gave out from underneath him, and Remus was forced to half-carry, half-drag him along.

Madame Pomfrey came out in a tizzy, nothing unusual, but she softened when she saw who it was. "Poor dear," was all she said. She gave Mr. Potter a sleeping potion to set him at ease, tucking him snugly into one of the spare beds.

Remus was about to leave when he turned back to her, a trembling hand on the doorframe. "Madame Pomfrey, it's not true, is it? About James and Sirius?"

He was scared to know if it was true, but at the same time, not knowing would be even worse.

Madame Pomfrey turned to look at him, a sad smile on her face. Tears were welling up in her own eyes. "I'm afraid it is Remus. I'm afraid it is."

That was all she said before going back into her office. Remus returned to Gryffindor tower, silent and thoughtful. He found Peter trying to do some homework, albeit not very successfully. Remus sat down next to him in a daze. He didn't even notice anyone who was sitting around him.

"Hey, Remus? Can you help me with this? I can't make any sense of this Herbology assignment…" Peter said, holding out a piece of parchment for Remus. Remus didn't acknowledge it. Peter's arm drooped a little when Remus didn't take the parchment.

"I know what happened to James and Sirius," he whispered. Peter looked up at him, confusion clearly written on his face.

"What? You know where they are?" he asked. Unbeknownst to the two, the immediate group of people next to them stopped talking to listen.

"They were kidnapped…over break. They're being held captive somewhere, being tortured, or worse…" Remus trailed off. It was beginning to sink in on him just how dire this situation was. If only he could do something…but what could an underage wizard do?

Nearby, a girl with red hair stood up from her group of friends and left without offering them any explanation. They called after her, but she didn't answer and the portrait hole closed behind her.

Peter and Remus didn't get any work done that night. They didn't really sleep either, but they had plenty of nightmares.

End Chapter

_And I'm just going to leave it there. Please review! I really like it when you review! It inspires me to update faster! _


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

_James' POV_

I can't tell you how many times I managed to hit my arm on the way down the stairs. And when I finally came to a stop at the bottom, I decided against moving for awhile and just lay there, thankfully on my left side.

That flight of stairs isn't even that long, but it sure hurt.

My mind was such a mess…I could hear Sirius' screams from down here. They must really be giving him a hard time…or vice versa…and I caused their wrath. I set this upon my friend. This was my fault, all because I didn't want to get hurt again.

Some Gryffindor I am.

It seemed like forever before I heard the door open, heard something heavy falling down the stairs the same way I had. He miraculously landed next to me and not on me, and like me decided to lay there instead of moving. The door slammed shut. I heard the distinct sound of a lock clicking, something I've never paid attention to before.

I kept my eyes shut, but I knew he hadn't moved yet. "Sirius?" I asked.

"Are they gone?" he asked. His voice was the only indication that he was in a lot of pain. Pain that I had caused.

"Yeah, they're gone," I said. He let out a sigh of relief.

"I didn't think they'd ever let up," he said. He still didn't move.

"What happened? I hope I didn't cause too much trouble…" I began.

"James, that was brilliant, what you did up there. Never-mind about what they did to me because of it. You would have been killed," he said. I frowned.

"But they could have killed you," I said. He snorted, and then regretted it.

"Ow, forgot that was broken," he said. "I pretended to pass out so they'd throw me down here again. I just didn't expect that to be so literal."

I smiled. "Who's brilliant now? We should have been doing that the whole time."

"They would have caught on," he said. "Besides, today was the first day they were really out to kill us."

"I guess," I said. My thoughts were so jumbled right now I was lucky I was having a coherent conversation.

"James, I can hear how much you need to sleep. So sleep already," Sirius said. I smiled again and nodded. I didn't know if he saw or not, but I didn't really care.

I was asleep in a matter of minutes.

It was surprisingly warm when I woke up. And my head was elevated, something that I don't think I ever would have been aware of had it not happened in a few weeks.

I opened my eyes blearily, all too aware of the pain all over my body. I groaned as I tried to sit up. A hand on my shoulder stopped me.

"Don't even think about it," Sirius said. I looked up at him, taking a few moments to realize my head was resting on his leg. And there was a blanket over me.

"Aren't we still in Hell?" I asked. My voice was rough, my throat raw. I couldn't see him clearly, but I can't tell if my glasses are on or not, so that's the simple reason for that.

"Yeah, and you're still sick. And you're arm is infected even worse now. And I'll be damned if I let you die," Sirius said. I frowned. I could make out that half of his face was still swollen. If we weren't in Hell, I'd have joked about it. As it was I was only partly coherent anymore.

"Where'd the blanket come from?" I asked. My throat was really bothering me, but that might just be from lack of water.

"Toffie brought it along with the food earlier. You've been asleep for several hours since I woke up," he said. "You're fever's gotten worse," he added, frowning.

Well that explains a lot. He's trying to make me comfortable, figuring that will help. Stone Hell Hole is not a place where it is possible to be comfortable though. But the gesture is nice all the same.

I coughed again, turning my head away from Sirius at least. It did nothing in the least to soothe my throat. Merlin how I wanted to sleep and never wake up. Sleep seemed so peaceful…I could probably manage it too, I'm already so far gone…

"James…" Sirius started. There was an under-edge in his voice, an emotion rarely heard from him. "What you were saying before…about how you accepted death already, you were just saying that, weren't you? You didn't really mean it?"

I couldn't believe it. He was scared, scared that I was letting myself die. Which I am, mind you, if I could just sleep again…

But I had to set his mind at ease…no, I can't leave Sirius like this. I can't abandon him. I have to stay alive, for his sake. At least a few more days…

"I meant it Sirius," I admitted. He didn't say anything. "I want out of here Sirius, and at this point, for me, the only option is death. You still have a chance though."

"James, you can't die here. Please…" his voice choked up. "We can still get out of here, just another day, I know your dad can figure a way to get us out of here…please…"

Tears leaked out of my eyes, and I know from the way Sirius had been talking that they're falling down his face as well. I felt downright awful.

"As long as I can," I said. I didn't have to say anything else. He knew what I meant.

"I won't be long behind you, just remember that," Sirius said. "I'll piss them off enough to kill me."

"At least you get to go in a blaze of glory," I said. How did it come to this? Us joking about our own deaths, which will likely happen in a matter of days?

"I can finally say what I've always wanted to say to Bella," he said. I smiled. At least I'd given him something else to think about, even if it was his own suicide.

I fell asleep again soon after. Blasted fever just wouldn't let me out its clutches.

Little did I know, that I wasn't going to wake up the same again.

End Chapter

_I know this is kind of short, but there's really not much else for them to say. Please review! I really do update faster if you review! I don't want to have to beg but that's what you've reduced me to! Please Review!_


	11. Chapter 11

_You all seem to be under the impression that I'm killing James…_

_And I've realized that I have not done this for a long while. _

_Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Harry Potter world._

Chapter 11

Remus was gloomily eating his breakfast. Well, he wasn't actually eating. He was just staring at it. He didn't feel like eating. How could he, when his two best friends, the only people to ever show him any kindness, to treat him like a human being, were being held captive somewhere and likely dieing as he sat there, helpless?

He was so absorbed in his thoughts that he jumped to his feet when Lily Evans sat down next to him, slamming a book on the table. Her hair was wild, untamed. Her eyes held a sort of mischievous quality that he'd only ever seen in James and Sirius. There were circles under her eyes, indicating a sleepless night.

"I overheard you telling Peter last night, and I have a plan," she said. Remus tilted his head.

"What on Earth are you talking about?" Remus asked her. He slowly sat back down.

"James and Sirius. No one knows where they're being held, right? And that's the problem with rescuing them. I found an old tracer spell though that can take us as close as it can, even if they're in a protected place. The only risky part is we don't know what we're getting ourselves into, but I'm sure we can handle it," Lily said. She looked up at Remus. He titled his head more.

"Why do you of all people want to help them? I would have thought you'd be celebrating the news," Remus said. Lily glared at him.

"I'm not some heartless wench," Lily said. "I may not particularly care for them, but I won't just sit around and do nothing either."

Remus looked her up and down. It seemed like the reason behind this was a lot more than simple bravado. He shrugged it off. Whatever the reason, at least they had something to go on.

"What's the spell then?" he asked, looking over at the book. Lily opened it to the page she had bookmarked.

"It's really advanced, so we might want to practice it on one another first just to make sure we have it right…" Lily mused aloud. She pointed it out to Remus. There were many warnings under it that he knew would go completely unheeded as they set off to find James and Sirius.

"Come on, we can sneak into Hogsmeade and practice there," Remus said. Lily nodded and followed him as he stood up and left the Great Hall. They passed a bewildered Peter in the process, hardly paying him a second thought in their thrill to find James and Sirius.

Lily didn't question Remus as he led her to an old statue of a one-eyed witch, and she didn't pause to enter the passageway that he opened. No one saw them, or if they did, they never said anything, finding it rather insignificant and a little hard to believe.

They spell did take them a few tries to master, but because they wanted to so badly, they found that they had it under their control within two hours. And fifteen minutes after that, they were trying it for real to find James and Sirius.

End Chapter

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	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

_Sirius' POV_

Toffie came back with more food some time after James had gone back to sleep. I tried shaking him awake, but he didn't stir. Groaned a little, but other than that nothing. I let him keep sleeping.

Part of me was scared. We finally had a plan to get out of here, but not in the way we had wanted a week ago. We were getting out of this life altogether. And with our situation, there was no other option.

We were going to die, sixteen years old, in this damn war. And I think James is already halfway there.

Toffie-God bless him- kept coming back to check on us. I think the little house elf knew what our plan was. Maybe, after all this time, he'd become attached to us after-all.

And what the heck, it was worth a shot.

The next time Toffie came in, I asked him if he could apparate us out of there. He shook his head.

"No elf is able to leave these grounds," Toffie said sadly. He brought me another blanket for myself.

The minutes ticked by, slowly. James never woke up. I started realizing that as time passed, his breathing was becoming shallower and shallower. I let tears fall down my face again.

Just out of curiosity (and boredom, most likely) I checked on James' arm. Once. It was almost completely black, which is a disturbing sight. I wrapped it up again and didn't look ever again.

I tried waking James up several times. Nothing worked. Not even slapping his bad arm. He didn't even stir at that. Tears started falling slowly down my face at the realization that James wasn't going to wake up again. Our plan was falling into place perfectly.

I was called up again by Raston. He and Bellatrix were waiting for me in the room. Raston already had his knife out and he was fingering the blade. He looked up at me disdainfully, like I was some sort of disease. Then again, I probably looked like crap right now so…touché mind.

"It seems our fun has to come to an end, dear Sirius. We have orders to obliterate your life…unless, of course, you choose to claim your rightful place and join us?" Raston asked. I stared at him dumbly for a moment. Was he serious? (No, I am!) They've been trying to kill me and now they want me to join them?

"Choose carefully," Bellatrix's voice crawled into my ear unexpectedly. I jumped in surprise and turned around to see her looking at me with those creepy eyes of hers.

It is so much easier to be defiant to family for some reason.

"I'd never join Voldemort. So do your worst," I said with as much venom in my voice as I could. She smiled maliciously at me and pulled her wand out.

"Gladly," she whispered. "_Crucio!_"

White hot needles stabbed me all over my body, more powerful than ever before. I immediately crumbled to my knees and hated myself for it. It seemed to go on forever. And Bellatrix didn't seem to have any inclination of letting up. And why would she? They were going to kill me now. They would prefer if I suffered as much as possible before then.

And like a bludger coming up behind me, the pain was suddenly gone. I laid on the floor, gasping for air like a fish. My throat was incredibly sore and felt raw, so I knew I'd been screaming even though I'd never heard it. Sticky sweat covered my body to the point where I wanted nothing more than to jump in the lake at Hogwarts.

The lake I would never see again, at the school I would never set foot in again.

"You're pretty strong," Raston said from somewhere. I really couldn't tell, and I really didn't care. He lifted me by the collar of my shirt and I opened my eyes to see him glaring at me. He backed off a little only to throw a punch that snapped my head to the side.

He released the collar of my shirt and I fell back to the floor. "But not strong enough," he finished. He then kicked me in the stomach, causing me to double over in pain. It didn't help that I already had a few broken ribs either.

"_Crucio_," Bellatrix called out. I tried unsuccessfully to make myself smaller by curling into a ball. It didn't help the pain at all and my body automatically tried stretching out. Nothing worked. The pain was everywhere and overwhelming. White spots danced in my eyes, matching the white hot pain all over my body. It was gone as suddenly as it had come.

"What do you mean someone's here?" Raston's voice asked. I laid gasping for air an not altogether caring what they were talking about as someone answered him. Raston cursed. "Take the boy downstairs and cover the door."

I was picked up roughly and hauled over to the entrance to Hell Hole, and then I was unceremoniously thrown down the steps. I know I hit James when I landed, I just don't remember it. I laid there, trying to catch my breath, and cursing that I was back down here. I was supposed to be dead now. Why am I not dead? Why were they drawing this miserable existence out longer than they had to?

Out of the confines of my own mind, I realized there was a commotion going on upstairs. People were screaming. Hexes and curses were being fired. People were running, and falling from the sounds of it.

I was incredibly sore and really didn't feel like moving right now. I wanted to curl up on the floor and go to sleep and never wake up, like James. But my curiosity was winning and I forced myself up the stairs and to the door. I put my ear to it trying to hear what was going on.

"_James? Sirius? Where are you?_" someone called out. Someone was looking for us. And was I going completely mental, or was that someone Remus? How would Remus of all people have found us?

Despite the pain it caused me, I started banging on the door and screaming. "Here! We're in here! The door in the empty room!"

"_Sirius? We're coming! Just hang on a little longer!_" Remus answered. Or at least who I think is Remus. I'm not completely sure this is happening right now. For all I know, I've gone round the bend.

I kept banging so he'd be able to know exactly where we were. Or maybe I just needed to cause myself more pain so I knew I wasn't dreaming. Either way, I kept banging on the door.

"It was under a tapestry! _Alahomora!_" A distinctly feminine voice called out. The lock on the door clicked. It was pulled open, and I fell with it.

"Sirius! Merlin, what happened to you?" Remus cried. He pulled me out of the doorway.

"Remus? You're really here? This is really happening? This isn't a dream?" I asked. I looked up at Remus. His perfectly healthy looking body seemed strange now.

"This is really happening," Remus said. "Where's James?"

The happy feeling I had vanished. "He's down there…hasn't woken up in a day now…" I said. This was so unfair…we're finally going to be rescued, finally going to get out of here, and it might not matter for him.

James might die anyway.

"Lily, take Sirius. I'll get James," Remus said. He passed me onto Lily and went down the stairs. It took a few moments for who now wrapped an arm around my shoulders to sink in.

"Lily?" I jumped up in surprise. She looked up in confusion. I winced and grabbed my side. Note to self: no jumping in surprise with a broken rib.

"Sirius, calm down. We'll explain when we get out of here and get you to St. Mungos," she said. Yeah, all sense of reality has gone out the window now.

I looked around in my effort to reclaim some of my sanity, managing only to see all the Death Eaters strewn about the floor, unconscious. It was an amazing feeling of satisfaction to see Raston and Bellatrix among them.

"Sirius, maybe you should sit down…" Lily said. She stood up next to me, placing a hand on my shoulder. I'll admit, I flinched at the contact. She quickly withdrew her hand.

"I'm sorry," I said. She shook her head.

"Don't be."

Remus finally came back up the stairs, using a spell to levitate James. "We need to get him to St. Mungos, _now_," he said. Lily nodded.

"We can't apparate on the grounds," she said. She grabbed my arm gently and started leading me through the house. It's weird. We've been here for so long, and I don't know what the rest of the place looks like. Not like I really want to know, either. The less of this place I have to remember, the better.

Remus wasted no time in disapparating with James as soon as we cleared the border. Lily held out a hand to me. I eyed it skeptically.

"Why are you helping?" I asked.

"I have my reasons," was all she said before grabbing my arm again and turning on the spot.

The disapparation was too much for me to handle in my state, and I passed out.

XX

_Third Person POV_

Lily was caught off guard when Sirius collapsed right after they appeared in the London street. Remus was already disappearing with James into the entrance of St. Mungos. Lily used the same levitating spell to carry Sirius after them.

St. Mungos took the boys without a question to separate rooms for treatments. Lily and Remus took seats in the waiting room. They nervously fidgeted.

"You know, we got them out pretty easily," Lily said. Remus nodded.

"I was just thinking the same thing. Apparently they didn't expect a rescue attempt to be made, or for it to be two underage teens. Do you think we just surprised them?"

Lily started tracing a pattern on the back of her hand. "It's almost like…like they wanted us to succeed."

"If that's the case, then we'll have to be ready to deal with it at another time. Right now the two need treatment, and James…" Remus trailed off. He didn't want to think about it.

"They seemed so…hopeless," Lily said. "I mean, I've never seen Sirius cry, and he was practically crying for joy when we came." Remus nodded.

"It takes a lot to make him cry," he agreed. A medi-witch with a clipboard came out.

"You two brought Sirius Black and James Potter in?" she asked. They nodded. "How did those two come to be in such a state?"

Remus and Lily looked at each other. "They were…kidnapped, a few weeks ago, by Death Eaters," Lily said. The medi-witch nearly dropped her clipboard.

"Oh my…yes, well, we've already contacted their parents…" the medi-witch walked away, mumbling to herself. Remus and Lily shared another look. Remus twirled a finger at his temple. Lily giggled.

"So, why did you help save them?" Remus asked a few minutes later. Lily sighed.

"I don't know…It's like, I found out, and I knew I _had_ to help. It wasn't an option," Lily said. Remus tilted his head.

"But you hate James and Sirius. Don't think I'm not grateful or anything, but…you're the least likely person to help them next to Snape." Lily pursed her lips into a thin line. Remus let the subject drop. Obviously Lily wasn't going to explain what had made her decide to help. And a poor thank-you indeed it would be if he pushed her.

End Chapter

_As always, please please review. If you have any questions, just ask!_


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

News has a tendency to travel quickly in the wizarding world. It was only two hours before the first reporters appeared at St. Mungos, asking if they could speak with either James Potter or Sirius Black, or even their rescuers, Lily Evans and Remus Lupin. No one is entirely sure how the news leaked out so quickly, but then, no one ever does.

Mr. and Mrs. Potter had arrived at St. Mungos within ten minutes of being notified, and only having taken that long so as to alert Dumbledore so he could call off the searchers. They sat with Lily and Remus in the waiting room, waiting for news.

An hour after being brought in, Sirius was declared perfectly fine and was allowed visitors. He would still be kept overnight for observation, because healers are just funny that way.

All four in the waiting room went in to see him. He was sitting upright in the bed, not a scratch on him anymore. All color had returned to his face, though the playful gleam in his eyes was still missing.

"Sirius!" Remus cried at the sight. Sirius beamed.

"Remus! You're quite a sight!" Sirius said. They gathered around his bed.

"Oh Sirius, are you alright?" Annie Potter asked. Sirius smirked.

"I've been fixed up good as new. No need to worry about me," he said almost bitterly. "Has there been any word on James?" he asked. They all sadly shook their heads. "Oh."

"It's only been an hour, and that gash on his arm was pretty bad…they probably just need more time to heal everything," Remus said, trying his best to cheer Sirius up. Sirius looked up, a ghost of a smile playing at his lips. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Lily, actually giving him a concerned gaze.

"Well well. If it isn't Lily Evans? Finally realized you're undying love for the Marauder's eh?" he asked. Lily's concerned green eyes quickly turned into a glare that would have Voldemort running to the hills.

"He'll be perfectly fine. I'll be in the waiting room," she said as she turned on her heel and walked out of his room. Remus lightly smacked Sirius' shoulder.

"Can you try not to be such a…such a…_you_ to her?" Remus asked him. Sirius tilted his head a little in confusion. "It's thanks to her we were able to find you two," Remus explained. Sirius' playful smile quickly vanished.

"Right," was all he said. He looked past to the door where she'd disappeared, a look of regret on his face.

"What did they even want with you two?" Remus asked. He propped his elbows on the edge of the bead, holding his head up.

"At first they were just asking for information from us about what we knew from James' dad. But they were taking a long time with it, and James figured out they were using us as bait for his dad," Sirius explained. Remus glanced up at Charlie, who had his jaw locked tightly and his eyes squeezed shut.

Annie rubbed Charlie's arm soothingly. Now that the boys were back and (mostly) okay, it was much easier to see that turning Charlie in would have solved nothing.

The door to Sirius' room opened and Dumbledore, along with another man who appeared to be in his fifties, entered.

"Charlie, Annie. Remus, and Sirius…" Dumbledore greeted. His eyes remained on Sirius, twinkling in that special way he has. "It is good to see you."

"Good to be seen," Sirius said.

"Yes yes, very nice. Now, can you tell us where you were? Who held you captive? What did they want with you?" the other man asked. Sirius turned his attention to him, frowning. The man had black hair, graying in places, and tired looking brown eyes. His face was lined with wrinkles, and he had an air about him that said not to waste his time.

"Slow down, sir. He's only just woken up," Charlie said. The man didn't relent his gaze at Sirius.

"They were using us as bait sir, which as you can see fell through," Sirius said, his voice cold and harsh. "I don't know where we were. The only names I have are Bellatrix Lestrange and Raston."

"Your cousin?" Remus asked. Sirius nodded. Remus involuntarily shivered. Sirius had told plenty of stories about Bellatrix.

The man nodded. "Thank you. And congrats on escaping. Speaking of which: Remus Lupin, you aided in the escape?" he asked, turning to Remus. Remus' eyes grew wide.

"Uh…yes, sir," Remus said. Even after all these years of being a Marauder, he still didn't like the spotlight.

"I would like to talk with you outside along with Miss Evans. If you'd kindly oblige…" the man trailed off as he turned around and walked out. Remus uncertainly stood up and followed, casting one last nervous glance at Sirius as the door closed.

"You did well," Charlie said, placing a hand on Sirius' shoulder. Sirius smiled. It wasn't often he was complemented. That had been one of the many things he was deprived of as a child in the Black household, something the Potter family was almost trying to make up for.

It was twenty minutes later before both Remus and Lily came back in. Dumbledore had remained silent the entire time, which seemed odd to Sirius. Tears kept leaking out of Annie's eyes, try as she might not to show them. Remus and Lily were scowling. The other man didn't come in.

"What happened?" Sirius asked.

"We were awarded Orders of Merlin, second class," Remus said. The others shared puzzled looks. Before anyone could ask why that upset them so much, Lily explained.

"And we were fined 200 galleons for apparating without a license!" she yelled. Jaws dropped around the room. "It would have been higher if the cause hadn't been just, they said."

Stunned silence was all that could be heard. Charlie spoke up first. "We'll pay that, of course," he said. Lily's scowl disappeared, and she was about to argue. "No buts, it was for our boys you did that. We'll pay the fine, for each of you."

She smiled gratefully. "Thank you, Mr. Potter."

He nodded. Dumbledore spoke up for the first time.

"I know this will likely be awful to relive, but, I would like to hear the story from Sirius now on what happened." Sirius took a deep breath and nodded. He recounted the story, starting with when the Potters left for Christmas shopping and ending with when he woke up in St. Mungos.

The tale took a surprising amount of time. Sirius hadn't thought there would be so much to tell, but he found once he started he didn't want to leave anything out, no matter how gruesome it might be. Quite a few times he stopped abruptly, the realization that he was out of there for good now and wasn't going back starting to sink in. He choked up whenever recounting what had happened to James, even if it was just Crucio.

A few minutes after he'd finished and while the room sat in silence, absorbing all this, a healer came in.

"Mr. Black needs rest now. I'm afraid I have to ask you all to leave," she said. The others cast Sirius a glance. He just shrugged. Remus frowned but stood up anyway. After hearing the story from Sirius, he was even more reluctant to leave. Mrs. Potter apparently felt the same way.

"If you need us Sirius, we'll be in the waiting room. Anything at all, okay hun?" she said, patting his arm. He nodded. Only Remus noticed that his jaw was tight.

The five filed into the waiting room. Mr. and Mrs. Potter collapsed into chairs, their strong façade fading fast. Lily patted Annie's hand soothingly.

"Sirius is fine, you saw that yourself. And James is strong, he'll be just fine," she said. Annie nodded.

"Ms. Evans, Mr. Lupin," Dumbledore began. The teens turned their attention to him, half-expecting to rewarded with detention for leaving school grounds. "How did you manage to find them? I'm afraid the curiosity has been gnawing at me for some time now."

Lily and Remus both let out breaths of relief, glad to be out of treacherous waters of a detention. "I found the spell in an old book in the library, sir," Lily explained. "It didn't have a formal name, but it didn't seem to have any side effects."

"Was this book a tainted green color with purple binding by any chance?" Dumbledore asked. Lily eyes widened in shock and she nodded.

"Sir, there isn't anything wrong with the spell, is there?" she asked hesitantly. Charlie and Annie gripped each other's hands tightly. They would have hated if something happened to the people who had just saved their boys.

"Nothing too hazardous no. The spell was recalled though a few centuries back for too many incompetent users. It's very complex and I must admit I'm surprised the two of you pulled it off so well. I had thought of the spell when first confronted with the news of James and Sirius, but I believed we would be able to find them another way," Dumbledore said.

"We performed an…illegal spell?" Remus clarified. Dumbledore nodded.

"I believe that, more than anything else, was the reason behind the fine you two received."

Remus and Lily shared guilty looks. "I'm so sorry…I had no idea…" Lily began. Remus cast his gaze down to the floor. The three adults all opened their mouths to rebuff this guilt.

"It is thanks to the spell that James and Sirius are now safe in our care. And as there seems to be no harm done, I see no reason to punish you for such a courageous deed," Dumbledore said. Charlie immaturely nodded his head in agreement, and Annie smiled.

"You'd better not punish these children," she said threateningly. Dumbledore smiled, a twinkle in his eye.

"That's another reason I'd like not to punish you," he said, causing a few fits of laughter.

It was a few more hours before they heard word on James. Dumbledore had left to go back to Hogwarts and let the teachers know what he could tell them. And when the healer came in, she avoided eye contact.

"James Potter?" she called. The four stood up. The healer glanced up and yelped when she saw their faces. She really didn't want to be the one to break their spirits.

"Is he okay?" Annie asked near tears. Charlie put an arm around her shoulders.

"If you'd all follow me," the healer said. They nervously glanced at one another before following after the retreating healer. She opened a door in one of the intensive care units. James lay unconscious on the bed, his glasses repaired and on the side table. The only sign of damage on him was his right arm which was heavily bandaged. A stale odor tainted the air. "We've done all we can for him," the healer explained. "There were traces of poison in his arm, which we've managed to clean out. It's up to him whether to wake up or not though. He doesn't respond to the wake up charm."

The healer left, leaving the four standing there in the room. Annie quickly took a seat near the bed before she collapsed in heaving sobs.

End Chapter

_How much do you all hate me now? _

_I hope I explained why Dumbledore didn't use the spell well enough. I know (at least I hope I know)_ _that I mentioned it in chapter three or so when the Order was discussing what to do. _

_Please review! I love whatever comments you guys have!_


	14. Chapter 14

_I do not own any of the Harry Potter franchise._

Chapter 14

_Sirius' POV_

I was really annoyed when that healer told everyone I needed to rest. I felt fine. And so of course I was sound asleep five minutes after everyone had left.

I woke up a few hours later when my door opened. Dumbledore and Lily walked in. Odd combo. And they both looked upset. Lily looked close to tears.

"What's wrong?" I asked. Lily bit her lower lip. What could she…blast it all. What else would she be this upset about? There was news of James, and apparently not good.

"There was poison in James' arm," Dumbledore said. I took a deep breath and waited for him to continue. "The healers have done all they can, but it's up to James now."

And James probably doesn't even know that we're not in the Hell Hole anymore. Meaning he won't try and wake up. Meaning he'll just let himself die.

"No, no, no no no no no no," was all I could say out loud. Tears started to form in my eyes, but I wouldn't let them fall. Lily covered her mouth and walked back out of the room. She understood everything too.

Dumbledore sat down in one of the chairs. My mind was on Lily though, because that was the easiest thing to think of right now.

"Why did Lily of all people come save us?" I asked. My voice was tight, strained from keeping myself together.

"My best guess is that Ms Evans had a change of heart towards you boys. Perhaps you've rubbed off on her more than you think," Dumbledore said. I tilted my head a little. I hadn't thought we'd rubbed off on Little Miss Perfect at all.

I stayed silent. There really was nothing to talk about. Dumbledore didn't push for conversation either, for which I was grateful. I wasn't sure I could keep myself together if I started talking.

Remus walked in. Only because I know him so well could I make out that he'd been crying. There weren't any marks per say, it was just the way his eyes looked. Not red or puffy, but that certain downcast was in them. He took a seat on the other side of the bed, opposite Dumbledore.

"How you holding up?" he asked me. I shrugged.

"About as well as I can be in the circumstances," I said. Dumbledore stood up and walked out, giving us some privacy. I was grateful for that. I wasn't afraid to cry in front of Remus. He's seen me cry before. I let the tears fall.

"He'll…He has to pull through," Remus said. Whether he was trying to convince me or himself, I wasn't sure.

"I don't think he's even aware that we've been rescued," I said quietly. Tears started falling down Remus' face again.

"But still…he…he wouldn't go down without a fight like this…" Remus said. I shook my head; the tears started falling faster.

"It was our plan," I admitted. I had left this out earlier because I hadn't wanted to admit to them that we'd resigned ourselves to death. It seemed cowardly. "He knew he wouldn't be able to last even a few more days with his arm like that. And once he…died…I would piss off Bellatrix and Raston enough to get myself killed. We just wanted it all to end."

I closed my eyes in an effort to dam the tears. It didn't help. Remus didn't say anything for a long time.

"It must have been very bad, if you wanted to die," he said quietly. I nodded.

"We didn't know when they would call us up. Sometimes they'd go days without acknowledging us, sometimes it would be daily. Sometimes it would be really painful, sometimes it would be just a few bruises." I was admitting to him how scared we'd been, how much we had hated it there. If it weren't Remus, I don't think I would have been able to. Remus just has the sort of personality that you can trust with your darkest secrets, because you know he'll understand.

"We should have gotten there sooner…I should have realized something was wrong when neither of you wrote all break…"

Unbelievable. He's blaming himself for what happened to us. I don't even understand how that's possible.

"Remus, this isn't your fault. There is no possible way that this is your fault," I said. He looked up at me. I must have been quite a sight, with tear trails down my cheeks and stern look in my eyes. "You didn't kidnap us, you didn't torture us. There is no possible reason for you to blame yourself."

He wiped his hand over his face and laughed. "I'm being ridiculous, aren't I?" he asked. I nodded. We both started laughing. It felt good to be able to do that without feeling pain in my side.

"Well, we know how my break was," I said. "How was yours?"

"Quiet without you and James around. I actually managed to finish a few books," he said. He talked about his break, doing his best to distract us both from the sepulchral thoughts plaguing our minds right now. I kept looking to the door, a plan that would surely anger a few healers forming in my mind.

When he had exhausted his tales of winter break, I pushed the covers off of me. He raised a brow. "Sirius, what are you doing?" I threw my legs over the side of the bed.

"I need to see for myself how James is," I said. I was wearing one of those patient robes. They are not comfortable and I really don't understand why patients wear them. Remus sighed and pulled out his wand. A set of fresh clothes appeared on the bed. "Thanks," I said, pulling on the fresh clothes.

He led the way, which surprised me. I would have thought he'd have been against my 'escaping'. Then again, I did it often enough at Hogwarts he probably gave up a long time ago.

Just as I was walking into James' room, I saw a man leaning against the wall down the hallway. He wore dark robes and a black fedora pulled down low over his face. I could just make out black hair under the hat, and a pink scar on his cheek, obviously still fresh.

I quickly shut the door behind me.

Charlie and Annie were sleeping, their heads on either side of James. James himself looked so peaceful, I almost didn't want him to have to wake-up. I took the last empty chair. Remus leaned against the wall at the foot of James' bed.

James looked better than he had in the Hell Hole. If only he could wake-up. And wait until he found out Lily was our savior. That will light up his world.

"C'mon James. Wake-up," I said. "We're out of there. We're in St. Mungos. You're safe now. You can wake-up." Why was I talking to him? Because it seemed right. Because it seemed like maybe if I told him enough that we're safe now, maybe he'll realize it and wake-up. "You're going to be just fine. You can wake-up. Please. Wake-up James. You can't die, not now. We still need you here. You have to wake-up."

I only succeeded in waking up his parents.

End Chapter

_I don't know what to say about this. So please review!_


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

_Sirius POV_

I stayed by James' side the entire night. His condition didn't worsen, but it didn't get better either. Remus and Lily had to go back to Hogwarts. Charlie and Annie stayed with me. A few healers came by in the morning and were outraged to find me out of bed. I was released that day anyway, so it didn't bother me. I stayed by James.

Yeah, go ahead and make all the loyal dog jokes.

Charlie and Annie tried talking to me, but I didn't really hear them. I was too absorbed in my own thoughts of grief, trying not to think of a very real possibility. I didn't eat either. Life just seemed…wrong, without James.

Charlie and Annie went out of the room for lunch, leaving me alone with James. The door closed softly behind them. I sighed.

"James…you've got to wake-up. Everything is falling apart without you now. Please, please wake-up," I said. I closed my eyes. The tears fell anyway, picking up speed as they trailed down my cheeks. I heard someone take a deep breath, but I was too lost in my own grief to connect it.

"Whoa, Sirius, where are we?" a raspy voice asked. I jumped, not having expected anyone to talk. James was sitting upright in the bed, his eyes wild as he surveyed the room.

"James…you're awake?" He looked at me funny and nodded. I couldn't help it. I broke down in hysterics, wrapping my arms around him in a brotherly hug and sobbing uncontrollably into his shoulder.

"Have you gone mental? What is happening?" James cried out. "We've died, right? Is that it? We're dead now?" I shook my head, calming down a little.

"We are very much alive," I said. I finally let go of him. He was giving me the strangest look that was completely questioning my sanity. I wiped the tears from my face. "We're in St. Mungos. Remus and Lily rescued us. You've been unconscious for two days now."

His mouth formed an o in understanding. And then his brow furrowed in confusion. "Did you say Lily?" he asked. I nodded. It didn't surprise me in the least that was the first thing he questioned.

"She won't tell us why. But apparently you're not out of luck yet with her," I said. He rolled his eyes and leaned back down onto the pillows, letting out a breath of relief.

"What happened to Raston and Bellatrix?" he asked. His voice really was rough. His screams echoed in my head as I realized that was probably why.

"Don't know. I'm going to let people know you're awake and get you some water," I said. I stood up and walked out the door, filled with some kind of euphoria that my brother was going to be okay.

Xx

_James' POV_

Jeez. I go to sleep for a few hours and look what happens! I'm relocated, healed, and was apparently saved by the girl whom I love who hates me. And then Sirius completely freaks out! What was with that?

He did come back in with a healer who kept going on and on about how it was 'nothing short of a miracle that I'm awake'. She fussed about my arm for a bit, said it had indeed been poisoned and then infected but should be okay now. (I was still banned from Quidditch for a month. A MONTH.) She gave me all sorts of potions which I took without question. I'm still in shock honestly, and have very little idea of what's going on.

And then my parents walked in.

My mother squealed in delight and pretty much tackled me. The Healer reprimanded her. My father was grinning like a fool. They both kept going on about how glad they were that I was okay.

The healer finally left, and I guess it was an hour after that before Remus and Lily walked in. They seemed really surprised that I was awake. Lily only stayed for a little while before leaving again. Hey, she showed up. That makes the whole ordeal worth it.

…

Nope. Not even Lily showing up makes the ordeal worth. Now if she'd agreed to go out with me… now that would be a different story.

Remus and Sirius and my parents stayed until a healer (different from before) kicked them out. In a way, I was glad. I needed some time to think and to finally process all of this.

I leaned back in the pillows. Such a small luxury that everyone takes for granted. Pillows seemed nothing short of heaven right now. Speaking of heaven, I'm supposed to be there now. I was supposed to die.

I'm not dead.

And it doesn't look like I'm going to be dead any time soon.

I just freaking survived being held captive by Death Eaters, Death Eaters who wanted me dead.

Merlin help me!

Xx

_Third Person POV_

He was there the entire time, from when the boys were brought in to when they woke up. Black woke up first, which didn't surprise him in the least. He'd deal with Black another time. Potter…now Potter did surprise him. He thought for sure Potter was as good as dead. Apparently that boy was stronger than he'd been given credit for.

And it was thanks to those two boys that his reputation was ruined. He'd been given an order, and he had failed. Now it was personal. Now those boys were going to go through a different Hell, one that would swallow them whole. And those two would welcome it by the time he was done with them.

He fingered a fresh scar on his face. The only way to make Black pay was to attack Potter.

The man in the black fedora smiled as he left St. Mungos.

Oh yes, those boys were going to pay alright.

End Chapter

_Yeah, creepy ending totally unplanned. But I liked it. And it's staying. _

_Please review! There's only one chapter left after this, and that's more of an epilogue! _


	16. Epilouge

Chapter 16

_James' POV One Week Later_

I was finally allowed back to Hogwarts a week after I woke up. Apparently they were only able to clean my arm of the poison in it but couldn't actually heal my arm for a few days because of the potion mix-up in my system it would have caused or some such nonsense. And my arm was still sore and in a sling besides! I thought we had magic to fix this stuff?

Madam Pomfrey explained it to me when I first came back, because of course I had to check in with her first. She said that since it was so massive, it couldn't be healed all at once. But since that was the only issue and she could handle it when I remembered to come in every other day, St. Mungos had to let me go back to Hogwarts where I'd be ambushed by all the other students who want to know what happened. In full detail.

And that is not something I want to relive, thank-you-very-much. Sirius (who had refused to return to Hogwarts without me, by the way) felt much the same. I mean, we may look okay since almost everything was healed up right away, the exception being my arm, but mentally…for me at least, it feels like I'm broken. I've been on Death's doorstep now, with the door open, and thought for sure I was going in. And then that door was slammed in my face as I started to enter and I'm expected to just move on with my life.

The professors all went easy on the missed work for me and Sirius, giving us abbreviated homework or just waiving it all together.

I'm already used to attention, so students whispering about me as I pass doesn't even phase me. And I've already adjusted to only using my left arm, so that doesn't bother me either. In all respects, life should be able to simply move on, pick up where it left off. But it doesn't. I can't forget what happened. I can't forget how close I was to death. And I can't forget any of the pain, or Sirius' screams, or being in that cramped space for so long…Those people had really intended to kill us, and they'll probably kill us as soon as they have the chance.

Bad thoughts again. Not helping when trying to sleep. I have enough nightmares as it is. I sighed and closed my eyes again. I wish so much that life could just go back to the way it was…but that's not going to happen.

I could picture Raston's face so clearly…he's still at large. He'll definitely be after Sirius and I. We got away from him. We survived when we weren't supposed to…

His laugh reverberates in my mind, and I sigh again and throw the covers off of me. I pull aside the bed-curtains, grab my glasses and new wand off the nightstand, and walk out of the dormitory. I try to be as quiet as I can, but I know that I must have at least woken Moony up with the door.

I walk down the stairs and sit down at the couch across from the dying fire. I massage my sore arm out of habit. I'm only alone for a few minutes when I hear footsteps on the stairs. My mind perked up and I'm soon chastising myself for the unneeded panic attack. Sirius sat down next to me.

"Couldn't sleep either?" I asked him. He shook his head.

"Too many nightmares," he stated simply.

"It's never going to be like before, is it?" I asked quietly. I kept my gaze locked on the last embers of the fire.

"I don't think so. We know what's out there now…and I don't know about you, but I don't want to live my life ignoring it. I want to help stop this guy before he can hurt anyone else," Sirius said.

"I know what you mean…but what can we do? We're still in school, and after break they're not going to just let us go help them."

He sighed. "We have to at least wait until after school. Then we can train to be aurors and help out everywhere we can," he said. I nodded. I could see where he was coming from, and now that he said it out loud, I found that I wanted to help too.

"Together, we can stop this from happening again," I said. Some of the embers kicked in and collapsed into some other wood, kindling a bit of flame. I was smiling, something that I really haven't done since before break.

We could stop this pain for other people.

But how do we stop it for ourselves?

I sighed. "Now if only we could make the nightmares stop."

Sirius sighed as well. "I know it's not much, but, when I'm reliving the worst moments, well, I try and imagine how differently it would have gone if I'd had a wand. It's usually only temporary relief, but…it helps."

I nodded. His technique was actually pretty sound. Which leaves me one other question. "So why'd you come down?"

"It's not perfect. Something else usually goes wrong. But at least we can get some sleep," he stated.

"Yeah…" It wasn't a bad idea. And this nice little picture of saving people in the future wasn't too bad either. I yawned, suddenly feeling the fatigue of the last few weeks piling into one. "Come on, let's go try and get some sleep while we can."

Sirius nodded and we stood up and headed back to our dorm.

For the first time since before break, I slept without nightmares.

Xx

Outside the bounds of Hogwarts, one man stared up at a specific tower where he knew his prey lay, currently out of his reach. His cloak billowed around him in the wind, and he had to keep one hand grasped on the brim of his black fedora.

Tonight, they could sleep peacefully. But tomorrow was another day.

He tore his gaze away from the tower and disapparated on the spot.

Tomorrow was another day indeed.

End Story

_And that finishes Dark Days. I am planning a sequel that will go through the Marauder's seventh year. Should be up in a week or two, depending on how much I can write in the next week with mid-terms and everything. _

_I know it's the last chapter, but please review anyway! If you bother me enough I'll post the sequel sooner!_


	17. sequel

Hey all!

Someone asked me to post a notice here when the sequel is up, so….

The sequel is up! I'm calling it Marauder's Luck. Go check it out!

That is all.


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